Asparagus Caprese Salad, by Diane

 

I was clearing out the fridge and whipped this creation up, it was so good and I think it would be a great summer salad or side dish. Yum!

Ingredients:

1 bunch asparagus, roasted with EVOO salt and pepper, diced

1 container grape tomatoes, quartered

1 small container mozzarella balls, quartered

1 small pack basil, leaves minced

1/4 cup turkey pepperoni, quartered

Balsamic and EVOO (I had meyer lemon EVOO which worked great)

Coarse salt

Fresh ground black pepper

Directions: 

Mix all and adjust to taste.

Roasted Asparagus and Preserved Lemon Salad, by Diane

Our cooking the countries continues! This weekend our country was Israel, specifically from the Jerusalem area. This was the first dish we made, and it was outstanding. It tasted incredibly fresh and was a great chilled summer salad. I would easily have eaten this as a meal on it's own! Plus it came together really quick, and had minimal cooking which is ideal in this heat. You can use either goat or feta cheese in this dish- although feta may be more traditional the goat cheese got extra creamy when combined with the dressing and it was a definite hit. This dish would also be perfect with chicken or salmon on top.

The twist in this dish was the addition of preserved lemon. To make preserved lemon you simply store lemon slices (peel on) in a mason jar packed with salt and lemon juice. You can make this up to a week ahead of time, but I did it a day ahead and it was fine. For this dish since I only needed a little, I used 1/2 a lemon cut into 3 slices, and made sure to massage the salt into the lemons before I stored it overnight. If you don't want to do this regular lemons will work just fine- or you can cheat and simply rub salt into lemons and use them within a few minutes. If you make the lemons in advance, the salt breaks down the peel and softens it so it's good to eat, so you can eat the whole lemon in this recipe.

Ingredients:

2 lb fresh asparagus, ends trimmed and cut in half
EVOO
Salt and pepper
2 tbsp preserved lemons, rough cut
2 cups grape or cherry tomatoes, halved
1/4 cup pistachios
1/4 cup crumbled goat or feta cheese
Fresh lemon juice


Directions:

1. Preheat an oven to 400, and line a baking tray with parchment paper (mine filled two baking trays since I didn't want to overcrowd the asparagus).

2. Place asparagus and preserved lemons onto the tray(s), drizzle with EVOO, and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

3. Roast for 7 min and remove from the oven to cool. Save the pan drippings in a bowl for the dressing.

4. While the asparagus and lemon cool, toast the pistachios in a pan until fragrant and set aside.

5. Finish the dressing with some remaining preserved lemon juice, fresh lemon juice, and add extra EVOO, salt or pepper if desired.

6. Toss the cooled asparagus and lemons with the tomatoes, then top with dressing, pistachios, and cheese.

“Cheesy” Cauliflower Risotto, by Diane

I have been getting really good at creating all types of “cheesy” sauces on whole 30 by using nutritional yeast. The other night I found a package of riced cauliflower with asparagus and mushrooms in the freezer, and decided to whip this up. I wound up eating it all for dinner and skipping the rest of my food! It tasted like pure comfort food, and I’m definitely making it again soon!


Ingredients:

Riced cauliflower, cooked
Diced asparagus, cooked
Diced mushrooms, cooked
2 tbsp coconut milk, warmed
5 tbsp nutritional yeast
1 tbsp onion powder
1 tbsp garlic powder
Salt and pepper
1/4 tsp poultry seasoning
1 tsp arrowroot powder


Directions:

1. Mix the veggies together and set aside.

2. In a small bowl, add all the seasonings. Whisk together until well blended.

3. Add in the warm coconut milk and whisk until blended.

4. Sprinkle the arrowroot powder in the sauce and stir until it thickens, adjusting consistency with coconut milk or powder if needed.

5. Pour over the veggies and enjoy!